Head Off Fast-draw Chaos

Listen to Seminole County Sheriff John Polk and understand why Florida should resist any attempt to weaken its laws on concealed handguns.

Allow more concealed guns in the state, he says, and there will be more guns and more violence. There will be more people trying to work their way out of dangerous situations with a deadly weapon.

He's right. The key now is for the Florida Sheriffs Association, which Mr. Polk headed last year, to listen to him.

That association, which agreed with Mr. Polk's stand on concealed guns last year, is now thinking about supporting a weak law on concealed weapons.

Specifically, the association will decide next month whether to support a bill to wipe out tough local laws on who can carry hidden guns. That would allow virtually any adult who is not a felon, crazy or a drug user to carry a concealed gun. The bill was passed by the Legislature last year but Gov. Bob Graham vetoed it. The National Rifle Association is now pushing to have two- thirds of the Legislature override the governor's veto.

It's no wonder the NRA is making a big push to get support for the bill from such groups as the sheriffs association. The NRA knows the sheriffs have a lot of credibility in the gun control debate. Any change by the sheriffs now would help the NRA cause tremendously.

But the sheriffs shouldn't fall for the NRA's arguments for looser handgun laws. After all, the sheriffs are the ones who must bear the brunt of weak gun laws. They are the ones who find themselves on the scenes of family disturbances, suicides and murders.

If anything, the sheriffs should be fighting for tougher controls on handguns. Any position by them that even appears to show support for relaxed laws on concealed weapons could encourage lawmakers to override the governor's veto.

The truth is that there's nothing wrong with the way the law works now: Counties have their own guidelines for who can carry a concealed weapon. Some areas such as Orange and Seminole counties fortunately have tough laws. Together they have issued only 23 permits for concealed guns in the last seven years.

How would the NRA's proposed law change that? The secretary of state's office predicts that relaxing tough county standards would give 390,000 people licenses to carry concealed weapons. That's 25 times the number of people who now have permits.

Florida's sheriffs don't have to listen to Gov. Graham or lawmakers who oppose relaxing county gun control laws. They just have to listen to John Polk.

''In the old West it was the fastest draw,'' he said. ''If this bill passes, we could see the same thing in Florida. It's going to be chaos.''